Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/235968
Sarasota News Leader January 3, 2014 BP in compensation for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the worst environmental disaster in American history. The county's wish list had an estimated price tag of $145 million, with individual project costs ranging from $20,000 to $60 million. Laird Wreford tells The Sarasota News Leader the projects had been on "the drawing board" for some time; they included everything from beach restoration to the county's Phillippi Creek Septic System Replacement Program. That list was then submitted to the Joint Florida Gulf National Estuary Programs — made up of organizations that oversee Sarasota Bay, Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor — for a rigorous evaluation and ranking process. Out of the county's 28 projects, 15 "ended up in total in the highest-ranked group," Lair Wreford, the county's coastal resources manager, says proudly. Page 32 Because the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says insufficient sand of the quality needed is available offshore for the renourishment of Lido Beach, the shoals in Big Pass and New Pass likely will be the sources for the project, Laird Wreford, Sarasota County's coastal resources manager, tells The Sarasota News Leader. The Corps' project manager for the renourishment initiative met the previous week with City of Sarasota officials and representatives of the Lido Key Residents Association, Wreford reports in a March 27 email to County Administrator Randall Reid. The city's plans include not only seeking state permission for the use of sand from Big Pass' ebb shoal and channel, Wreford adds in the email, but also for the placement of three groins at the southern end of Lido Key. City Engineer Alexandrea DavisShaw says Lido has been designated "critically eroded" since about 1990, making the renourishment project vital to maintaining the beach as an attractive tourist destination. % City of Sarasota staff is proceeding with plans for a renourishment of Lido Beach, which has been designated 'critically eroded.' Photo courtesy City of Sarasota